A revolutionary carbon capture system will be launched at a Scottish Distillery on Monday.
The project has been completed by Scottish Bioenergy at the Glenturret Distillery - home of The Famous Grouse whisky – in Crieff.
The system captures carbon dioxide from the distillery flue gas and percolates it through a series of algae containing bioreactors.
The algae strips the CO2 from the gas and converts it into useful oils and protein. Contaminants from wastewater are utilised by the algae as a food source. The by-products from the process are oil, minerals, proteins and oxygen.
David Van Alstyne, CEO of Scottish Bioenergy, said: "A couple of years ago the idea of using algae as a carbon recycler sounded absurd but with the support of Shell, Edrington Group and the Scottish Environmental Technology Network we have built the largest bioreactor in the UK."
A study is being conducted on the use of the algal biomass as animal food, funded by a grant from the Scottish Environmental Technology Fund.
The micro-organisms will consume 8kg of carbon dioxide to produce 1 litre of oil.
When the oil is burned it will produce 3.3 kg of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide produced as a result of the energy needed to grow and process the algae into bio fuel is less than 300grams.
The result is a net negative carbon equation of 4.4kg per litre.
